Method of and mechanism for weaving stake fabric



June 24, 1930. w j ETT ET AL 1,766,223

METHOD OF AND MECHANISM FOR WEAVING STAKE FABRIC Filed Dec. 28, 1926 2 sheet'-shet 1 J. E. MILLETT E L METHOD OF AND MECHANISM FOR WEAVING STAKE FABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Filed Dec. 28, 1926 v35 -spaced -froin ea'ch other in, the fabric and :the ibee'ting actionfthei'efore{does not have being providechthis eam acting one fol-lower '16:on' a hell: oifenl'i leyer 17,- one arm of which, 7

Patented June 24,

iTO'I-DNTEQMILLETTAND:GiJS'I'eF s. :itonnsmnom, ones-Rimes;MASS CHUSETT ,sns- I 'sIGNoRs z'ro AMERIGANEFIBRE 'co'REoRATIon, 10F GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS, A

- ooRPonATIoNioF: MASSACHUSETTS .ME on J on Ann 'minonenls' mfnon -WEAVYVVING STAKE FABRIC implemented'nee ber 28, 1925. ffser arno. 157,452.

- This invention relejtes to a method of and mehanismdorweeving, the mechanism being 'more especially adapted foi fleying picks'oi' iel'at ively stlff, coarse sti'end'meteimlsuch as Tic. "In su'chffabric the -st'rends running in, one .dlIGCtlOIl and knov'vn-fas "v-stakes ere straight and spaced apart,- the strandset rlght lfoi'medwiththe staikes=esw arp strands, "the i filling str a'nds being heziten'u'ptogether asthe fzi'bi-ic is being "formed; so thet theyvare straightened latra-lly gin the fabi-ic, the' ten stekes acting to-hold tll'em stfeight. V It commonly happens, however th'atit is desii zihle to have thes'takes-Fun crosswise of =the fabric as it is usedyand'to p'rovide'suflicie'n't length of strips under these conditions, widedooms have been necessery,"the Wide fabficbeing out laterallyintostrips in which the ste;kes1un crosswise. I

"Due to the natureof I ia'ndj-to thefaot'thatfit is commonly fed to the v {loom fi-omspo'ols sothat it reaches the loom in more orgl'essecui'yed and crooked condi-- tion; looms designed to. utilize stakes es Warp strands are: not adapted to use the stakes as 'filli n-g' sti ands of f picks,v since jthe stakes are much straighteningaction on the strands. If l-straightening' ol'Q thev filling fstrands by other llessjnu'mbeit iofstaltes than of the strandsiinwa unit oflen 'gthQ 'c'coi'dingf to .theipresentinventio11,;there ifore; ineens-ereprovided I forziinsuringi that the [fabricasoathatthesepicks maybestakes. This beinglaid, together with means for a'pp'lying vme y he made from: paper strips fdrmedinto tension thereto until its'le'ying is completed.

ure 3,

sion on the warp st mnds Which "form' the 'la'id 'by means of a Weft needle l'Oeomprising a tube having 21 strand pass'egell thereith'ro'ujgh'. V r I I '-s'lidehle-elong suitable waysl 3 and is' fgiven the strend material '2 themth ewheating 'CQUldibG' insured, }hoWever, n'otionly could the: filibflCTb6-n121d6With the v material extending throu'gh the needlefpass'es "through a guide eye 25' on the carriage 12 mm in zigzag relationunder and over a; isenies of pins 26 'proje'cting from'one faoeof the'cerwould-Elie yenfy much fester 1 due tothe {much crossw se ipicks Easelaidgspaeed apart are straight in the.

acting on the steketoremoveeny tendency'it may have to 1 curve immediately prior to its Fem more complete understanding-ofthis Figure 21' is a fragmentary plan showing the pick laying needle in retracted :position.

Figure 21s afront elevation oftheseme. "F guieBis a d'etailplan ofa pick gripper. Figure 'ls a section on'line HOT Fig- Figureois a" horizontal section online 5-5 of Figu're Gthrough the's'trend cutter showing one end of the picklayin-g needle; t

" Fi'gur e G is a section on- 1ine6'6 of Fig- (Figures? end'S are a detailpl'an andele 'ation, respectively, of the strand straightening devices.

Figure 9 is a'plan showing astzike'fabfic;

7 As illustrated in the drawingsthe pieks are Tins-tube is fixed to a carriegeTIQ emotion to project its free' en'd 14' through the shed total-1 y with it the end of st rend mate-f rial' as Will later. appear and is thenretracted so as to lezwe the shed,; permitting th'e' staike materiel grasped at the 'opposite' end; of the shed to pass through the strandpassege. I This motion of the needle mey be accomplished by:v

any suitable means, as shown I in Figure- 2, 21;

shaft r141 having anectuatingczim15thereon riagel adjacent to fth'e' end porti'on27' of 'lthe weft 'layii'ig needle-10. The pins 26 being;

arranged sothet the stake meteriel'mustjp assl thereabout iirzigzag formatiomibend the ma 9 7' terial back and fortlrancl thus act as straightening device for the stake to remove its tendency to curl or bend resulting from its having been wound on spools or reels.

The flexing and reverse flexing ot' the stake material removes or greatly reduces its resilience so that 'upon being subsequently straightened under tension will remain ,tolerably straight when the tension is reinoved.- After leaving the last pin 26' the strand, shown at S, passes back of the spring pressed dog 28 having arelatively sharp end portion 29 :which is held intoengagement with the strand by any suitable means such as the spring 30, this dog acting so long as it s gretamed in its normally spring pressed condition, to prevent backward motion of the stake; The'stake-c'an be released, however,-

\ 1 whenthis' is desire'chby'pressing inwardly on the end3lofi-the dog. After passing this .dog 28'the, stake extends into the weftjlaying needle 10 through its passagel-ljand projects .15 across the shed and its end is receive'dbesomewhat beyond its free'end as shown best in Figure 5; The stake materiallying in the weft needle iscarried by the action of the cam tweenjaw elements formed as pivoted plates :which constitute the active parts of a stake gripper mechanism "The adjacent ends oi these elements 35 are spring pressed toward each other, as byimeans of springs 36, and

their adjacent edges are beveled as shown at 37 ,so that they take a close grip on thelstrand Ien'd presented thereto-by means of they 7 weft needle, the elements in gripping position being shown in'Figure 4 in dotted lines, At I 88 1S shown a pan-ofguide plates so inclined V i tween the platesi35.

asto direct thestake end into position be- The, length of Seaman iying within cthefstake p'assage haspreviously been acted "upon-"by the straighteningdevicecomprising r the pins 26 so thatit lies-in straight position with little or no lateral constraintwithin the needle ehannel 311, and as the needle retracts the stake; is drawn through the:needi the straightening device straightening a length for, a suoceedingpick and imparting sufiicient' tension to the stake material so that it isretained in; straight condition within the shed" throughoutfthe retracting motion of the gneedle During the retr'acting motion of the I needle, not only theestakeinthe shed is ten+ 'sioned but also the adjoining portion which passedby thepins 26-01? the straightening 1 r deviceeacting thereon; 'rhu the portion of thestakermater al which is bent back and from}; the pins 26 is immediately thereafter 1' subjected to'a stretching tension which comf' gpletes the removal of its tendency ,to II curve.

:As soon,as thegneedlefreturns tons-fully rev ",tractec'laposition,meansare provided for c'utj ting off "the i'stake inwardly of the free end ot tlie needle and for releasingthe I gripper which has engaged'the' stake end; 5 Both these means, as shown, are actuated by the beater. At 40 are shown 'portlons of the beater mechanism. One of these portions carries the gripper elements 35 as shownin Figure 3, J

an angular bracket 41 being fixed to the beater 40 on one end and carrying the gripping mechanism at the other. The elements '35 ofthe gripping mechanism are pivoted be tween endplates'42 of a- U shaped frame 43 bracket 41 has fixed thereto aguide bracket 44 through which passesa rod 45. vTo this red is fixed a cross bar 46 carrying rods47cwhich which is directly fixed to the bracket 41. The

project. through portions of the bracket 37 a,

where they may impinge on the gripper eleing so as to spreadtheiradjacent ends and release thestrandfl These ends 37 are iberveledrand' asthey do not m quiteto alined relation when a stake is gripped, any pulling ofthe stake material; as the weft needle retracts acts to tightenthe grip of these jaws,

thereon. I Movement. of the member 46, however, acting to slide therods 47I 1nwardly forcibly movesthegrippers outof gripping relation. Such movementis accomplished as the beater starts to move forwardin the beating operation by means of a cam follower 50 carried by the rod 45 which travels'up'an inclinedstationary I surface 51 asthe beater moves forwardly. .Aspring 52fsurrounding therod 45 and bearing between'the crossbar I I 46 and the bracket arm 41 acts to hold the rods '47 retracted'so as to permit the aws to come intoiclafmping relation whenever the beater "1'0 is in its back position as shown by dotted lines inFigure 3; v

m At the opposite endioftthe' beater, the

each pick as laid. Figure 5, comprise a blade member'GO carried side from which theiweft needle moves into the shed, means are PIQVlClQCl'lfGIf cuttingoil" Suchmeans as; shown in by the beater 40, this blade slidingiacros's a stationary plate'el having a sl,ot;62;therei n r 4 ;through which the weft needle passes. as it enters and retracts from the shed. "During; 1

the movement ofth'e needle; into the shed the iscundertension between thefgrippers' gfi and i thestraightening P511153"QGNVhichfexgrta e I terial resistance to itsItraveIthrough the V needle passage, there is aconsiderablelength e of stake'material between the straighteners i I andthe knife blade 60 whi'chgis also undertens on, soon as the stake is 'cutthisten-Q s on causes-the end of, the stake-materiallpro jecting from the free end of the needle to be f:

ments 35 outwardly of their pivotal m-ount-- 0 pulled back slightly, the stake material then i being relievedof its tension so that the cut end is drawn out of contact with the blade 60 as shown in full lines iinFi'gure 5. The

backward motion of the beater does .not,"

might do if the cutendwere not'retracted" therefrom by the release of the tension of the stake within the needle passage. Should the end of the stake material bejpermitted to be much bent itfmight be moved out of position i to begrasped by the grippers onthe'succe'edingpick laying movement. K Afterthe beat fdistance when stake fabric is being. made so as to space the stakes the desired distance apart. i a c As the stakes are straightened before being laid and are held under tension after being laid uiitil the beating operation, they remain straight in the fabric as illustrated at S in Figure 9. Reference to this figurewill show that these'stakes are-not closely ,positioned in the fabric'and inthe beating operation are not pressed up into contact With each other. Should the strand material not be straightened when laid or held under tension at that time, it might lie crooked in the fabric as-illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 9,

the beating operation itself being ineffective to straighten it since'such, beating does not cause the stakes to bepushedup together, It will be seen, 'how'eveig-that by reason of the stakes being placed a considerable distance apart, the laying of each pick completes a V inuch greater lengthof fabric than if'the cross strands C illustrated in Figure 9' were used as filling strands, consequently the rate 'of weaving is very materially increased, as

the 1 feed "after'each beating operation is greatly increased without a corresponding increase in the numberof picks laid in a unit -.of time. The. stalgres palsoappear as the Weft of. the fabric running crosswise of the length 7 7' offabric as it comesfr'om the loonij o Having thus descr bed this-lnvent on and "having lllustrated amec'hanism embodying thesanie, it should be evident that various changes and modifications might be made the invention as definedby: the appended 'claiins; m

YVe claim 1 n lL In: a,machinelof the'class described,- (a kweft 'laying mechanism compr sing aneedle.

1 ha'vin'gfa strand passage,"means to project one which the strandto be laidmay pass in zigzag relation before entering said strand passage;

, In a nachine of thelclass described, a

weft laying-mechanism comprising needle having a strand passage, means to project out departing from the spirit or scope of one end of said needle through the shedandtoretractsaid needle,a series of pins at the opposite end of said needle and about which strand relative to said pins.

weftlaying mechanism comprising a *needle having a "strand "passage, means toproject o one 'en'doif'saidneedle'through a shedzand to j retractsaid needle,- means for cuttingo'ff the' picks: from a contractile filling-strand-as'laid by; said -needle, and means for-exerting tening operation the Workisfed a considerable f sion on said strand when i is cut, said means 4. The steps'in the method of weaving a stake vfabric hichcompr sepro ecting the I end-of astrand of curvingstake material of indefinite length'through a shed, gripping,

aiid' liolding said end, simultaneously tensioning the portion of the stake Within the shed and removing the curvature of the next adjoining portion of the materialby reverse fiexure, closing the shed on the tensioned 1' portion therein, and cutting off said portion within theshed. V I i V 5. The steps in a method of Weavingstake fabric. Which comprise supplying a strand of indefinitelength of stake material having a partially set curvature, removing from a portion of the strand of sufficient lengthto extend through thes-hed its tendency to curve, I

projecting "said portion through the shed,

further side of the shed, then simultaneously tensio'ning the portion in the shed and op-' -'e rating on the next succeed ng portion to re-' move 1ts tendency to curve, closingtheshed portion in the shed. a

on the portionthereimand cutting off s'aid 6; In a machine of theclass' described, a

straightening and tensioning a portion of the strand passing through the needle'during the rctractive movement thereof, said straighteniiig'means'comprising gripping means positioned to seizethe end of. the strand carriedv by the needle, and a plurality of pins mounted on said carriage over which pinsthe,

strands maypa'ss in a z'ig-zag course.

weft-laying mechanism comprising a needle 7 having a strand assage therein, means for reciprocating saic needle into 'and'oju'tjof' a;

V 7. In a machine of the class described, a

gripping the free end of saidportion at the o ehed, grippingmeans for-seizing the free end of the strand cairied by the needle, means.

7 {01 cutting the'stmnda fterthe removal of the needle from the shed; agbeater, means opel a ced by the motion of the beater to actuf; ate saidgfgripping maii and said cutting V means. g e I: V

" 85111 a machine pf the elassdescribed, in

5combinationwvithemeans i 01 layingestake ,7

4 in e'shed andebeater, meehanismforgripping the'free endofthe'sfiake eompiisingfa V a frame attaehedto said beater for mofiion V V V v therewithfmpail' ofjews carriedJoysaid. V i frame, meansioripressing' said jaws together,

-:and means Operable to openrsaidjawsqgainst the pressure of saidjaw-vc losing means, said :jawg opening'means cempliisinge"cam folr V v flower carried by sai clframe and'opefatively V c ni1eetec1.;t0-said jaWgahd wfix'ed cemenfi 7 whi ch said; follower fHlO VGS 'wi fth the motion 7 gofthe beater; 5 f 1 r In testimony whereof We ha vejafiixed 0111"- signaturesi 1 V .JOHNEMILLETLgQ' f' GUSTAF E. NORDSTROM. 

